Christmas Cards

Enjoy the Bright Lights of the Season!

The holiday spirit just caught me! And right now with the snow pouring down so gently and the weather oh so still and pretty, it's hard not to look forward to what's to come...

I just received the Christmas cards I did this year from the printer, and I'm oh so happy with the printing, the paper and the packaging of them. I'm selling 8 cards in a pack with two different types of cards. Shoot me an email if you are interested in purchasing some ;)

The Good Old Traditional Christmas Tree

"Yfir fannhvíta jörð leggur frið" the lyric from my favorite Christmas Song by Ólafur Gaukur

And remember to share the joy of Christmas!

Sanitas - Art Show

I'm participating in a group show hosted by the web gallery muses.is. This is the first time I show my cityscape paintings outside my safe-zone, a.k.a. my studio. Thanks so much to all of you who came to the opening on Sunday! Lots of talented artists have their wonderful works on the walls, so if you are in the area, make sure you drop by at the old Sanitas factory, Köllunarklettsvegur 4, open Thursday-Sunday, 1pm-5pm till Dec.18th.

...and who says you can't have fun at an Art Show?

Painting Planes

The story behind this posts artwork is my grandpa. My grandpa really is the sweetest grandpa you could ever ask for. He's also the coolest grandpa I know (and I'm not just saying that, he is !). He's a quiet guy, always neat and a little tanned with his hair perfectly combed back. And back in the days, he used to be an airline captain.

Every now and then he and my grandma (which by the way is the sweetest grandma you could ask for) drop by my studio unexpected but always welcome. I really love their visits and it makes the rest of my day a better day when I see them. And in one of these visits my grandpa asked me if I could do a painting for him.

He asked me to paint three planes he flew for the airline Loftleiðir (the coolest airline) and combine them in one painting in the order of which he flew them. Luckily a little later I got to fly with my brother where I shot some reference photo's for the painting (yes, my brother is also a pilot,...and so is my dad!).

This piece it pretty different from most of my paintings, but I loved painting it and I loved giving it to my grandpa :)

From right: DC-6, CL-44 & DC-8

Reference shot, Skarðsheiði, June 2011

Cpt. Árni F. Ólafsson

The Beautiful Borgarfjörður Eystri

Right now, when the weather outside is reminding us that the Summer is really, truly, believe it or not, so over, and that we have to wait patiently for just a few months (8 months really) for Summer to return, it's the perfect timing to review all the pretty Summer photos that were taken (which seems like was just yesterday). It really makes the house a little warmer.

We had a wonderful time at my mother in law's hometown, Borgarfjörður Eystri. It really is one of the most beautiful places on planet Earth.

The sunset at Borgarfjörður is like nothing else...

...and the little church must be one of the prettiest one you can find...

...I took my easels, canvas, brushes and paint with me and painted Dyrfjöll (and pretended to feel the presence of Master Kjarval) while the rest of the family played on the beach ...

...and this is the result, the "right" side of Dyrfjöll.

Ps: If you haven't spotted this post's real agenda, it's my attempt to lure my friends abroad to visit me with their brushes and easels, or just visit me, either way I'd be so happy!

View from the Tower

"Paint what excites you!", is probable one of the best advice I got in art school. If the subject doesn't excite you, just forget it, it'll be a struggle from the beginning to the end, so you might as well spend your time on something else.

There is something about roads, traffic jams and the view from above that excites me. I like trying to see the beauty in these often ugly man made sculptures we usually don't consider anything that pleases the eye.

A Sunday Shower

When I lived in San Francisco I was lucky enough to experience a tradition we don't have here in Iceland; a Baby Shower! A group of my dear friends threw one for me when I was pregnant with my daugther Lára and I knew right away it was a tradition I wanted to take back home with me (along with Halloween and talking to strangers (which is another tradition or a habit not too common here ;))

So today I had the loveliest Sunday of all as we celebrated my friend Elfa and her little boy, scheduled to arrive in just two weeks, or less (she hopes)...

Congrats my dear Elfa on the soon to be fourth little dude, you brave woman!

Late Summer at Bergstaðastræti

Every time I get the chance, I do a cityscape. It's such a welcomed feeling to take a break from the 3B pencil and Nr.0 brush I use for my illustrations and just make a little mess in my studio. Plus, I never get bored of my lovely city in it's everchanging colors and shades.